Mary the Chimney Sweep Engine
by bbll22
Summary: Mary is an old friend and visitor of Sodor as she is their one and only Chimney-sweep engine. She loves her work and knows that visiting Sodor is full of adventure...please review!
1. Mary's Sooty Day

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Mary's Sooty Day**

An old returning friend was steaming onto Sodor once more. Mary is a brown Fowler Dock tank engine and from time to time she comes to Sodor as their one and only chimney-seep engine. She has done this job for many years and enjoys seeing her friends again whenever she visits. Mary loves her work, even if it wasn't her original intended duty but she can't help but love taking away the soot from chimneys of businesses to make them very useful indeed.

Mary's day began as it always had whenever she had visited Sodor with a visit from her friend Percy.  
"Hello again!" chimed Percy. "It's been a while…" he added.  
"It's my routine…" said Mary. "It is every two months I come here just for a few days and then I'm gone once more." she smiled. Mary knew that it was best she was only here for a few days at a time as she never wanted to get too attached to the Sodor scenery. That had happened once before in a location on the Mainland and in the end she was forced to leave there and return to her home line.  
"I suspect you're going to be quite busy, Mary…" Percy then pointed out as he looked on at the factories in the distance. "The factories have been busy of late…"  
"That means more soot to clear then!" Mary chimed happily as she set off with a loud whistle. Percy liked Mary but knew that other engines didn't. He couldn't understand why though.

"Silly sooty engine…" sneered Diesel quietly as he could see Mary cheerily heading off to collect her chimney-sweep. Diesel had never really liked Mary; it was just one of those things. Other engines had asked but he could never really explain why. Diesel was most likely jealous but he knew today that he could feel better than Mary. He knew where the chimney-sweep was and immediately rushed away to get him. The chimney-sweep was surprised when Diesel arrived to pick him up though.  
"Is something the matter with Mary?" he asked kindly.  
"She's erm….um…ill…" Diesel eventually explained. The chimney-sweep accepted and got onboard and Diesel soon set away. He was just out of sight by the time Mary had arrived. She and her crew were confused as the chimney-sweep was nowhere to be seen.  
"Is he late?" Mary wondered. Her driver and fireman wondered the same. They soon asked a nearby workman and he explained that Diesel had taken him. He seemed very surprised to see Mary as he thought she was ill too. "That silly diesel…" grumbled Mary as soon she went on to the first port of call for the day where there then arrived, Diesel was grinning widely. The grin soon vanished though.  
"Oh…" he said. "You're here…"  
"Yes I am!" Mary said indignantly. "We will report you for this! Taking my chimney-sweep is not acceptable in the slightest!" The chimney-sweep soon apologised to Mary but she accepted it and let him get along with his work. Mary watched closely as Diesel slithered out of sight…

Later on, as the chimney-sweep was getting stuck into the work and thoroughly enjoying it, Mary began to have a nap. The long journey to Sodor was still having its effect on her and in no time at all, she was fast off. Diesel was still nearby and slithered back once again into view and just watched on. He kept as quiet as possible so that he wouldn't stir Mary. Keeping quiet though was becoming an issue for the chimney-sweep as he seemed to get stuck in the chimney he was cleaning.  
"Ooh…" he cried. He tried to nudge himself free but he seemed to get even more stuck. What he didn't know though was that this chimney was old and worn out. Bricks were loose and cement was not firmly in place anymore. The chimney-sweep was struggling to move but in the dark conditions he hadn't seen that he'd moved one brick quite out of place. It wasn't noticeable on the outside either but there was a slight crumbling noise developing. Mary was still fast asleep and her crew had gone away for lunch in the meantime meaning none of them could have expected what would happen next.

The chimney-sweep was still struggling and was still stuck. He moved once more and this time he heard a brick move very loudly. For a brief moment he saw the bright light of the outside as the brick landed to the ground with a smash.  
"Oh dear…" he said but before he could do anything it was too late. The crumbling noise from earlier grew louder and louder and then the chimney began to cave in on itself and then it began to fall over. The noise of the fallen brick had woken up Mary and she was only just fully awake when she saw the chimney falling to the ground.  
"Oh my…" she said.  
"ARGH!" wailed Diesel as he still looked on. The chimney fell to the ground with a thunderous noise sending soot and brick dust everywhere. Mary and Diesel's faces went orange with all the dust and the all that could be heard was the loud noise of the pair of them coughing. Luckily, no-one had been hurt as the chimney-sweep had managed to get free just in time. He felt awful as he surveyed the damage. Diesel felt awful too but Mary could only smile. She never minded getting dirty but this was a whole new level of dirtiness.  
"Well…that was different…" she laughed to herself.

The Fat Controller arrived as soon as he could with Harvey and Rocky in tow to clear the mess and spoke with everyone to check that they were alright. He wasn't pleased with the chimney-sweep at all.  
"But…" he said grandly. "…we should have checked that the chimney was properly maintained." Mary was soon reunited with her crew who took her for a much needed wash-down. Diesel was sent there too but the pair of them never spoke to each other. Diesel still didn't like Mary obviously.  
"Suit yourself…" said Mary as she left to return to her temporary shed. Percy was there when she arrived and she told him the whole story of the day.  
"That's a proper Sodor experience!" Percy smiled. Mary laughed but knew that if life was like that here all the time, she wouldn't want to be here permanently.  
"Just a few days every couple of months is enough." she muttered to herself before resuming her nap from earlier in the day.


	2. The Wandering Woman

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**The Wandering Woman**

It had been a long, busy day for Mary the Chimney-Sweep Engine. She had been across a vast area of Sodor making sure that the Factories and buildings that stood high and proud in the sky would be clear of Soot and therefore could work at their full potential. As she was exhausted, she returned to her shed that evening as she wanted a well-earnt rest. As the sun was setting, she looked on weary eyed and was just beginning to dream of peace and quiet for herself, but this was soon interrupted as CoCo the new, elegant Diesel tooted her horn very loudly.  
"Out of the way you dirty, disgusting trucks!" she bellowed as she passed by. She was soon out of sight and for now, Mary could get some rest.

The evening was fast fading and Mary was finally enjoying her rest. Her axles felt much better now and she was just happy once again. Then, Percy peeped into view next to Mary in her shed.  
"Hello lazy wheels!" he called jokingly.  
"What?" said a very drowsy Mary.  
"Do you want to hear a story?" asked Percy eagerly.

"What?" came the reply once again as Mary was not at all with what was happening.  
"Do you want to hear a story, Mary?" asked Percy slowly this time. Mary was unsure, she was tired but a story could send to her sleep, so it shouldn't do any harm at all.  
"If you want then..." she replied. "What's it called?" she then asked.  
"The Wandering Woman..." replied Percy eerily. "It's a spooky story!" he added very quickly. Mary now looked uneasy as she never liked spooky stories, but as she didn't want to upset Percy, she let him tell the story.  
"Go ahead then!" she smiled quite oddly as she braced herself for a spooking.  
"She has been around for many years..." began Percy. "No-one is sure of who she is or indeed who she was. All everyone knows quite simply is that there are three signs that the Wandering Woman is about!"  
"And they are?" asked Mary nervously.

"The loud tapping off shoes against the paths, a fading light within the distance and a haunting tune that echoes nearby..." replied Percy spookily. Mary began to wonder to herself about the three key signs. Had she seen the Wandering Woman before? Or was Percy doing his job of spooking her very well? As Percy carried on in greater detail, Mary didn't listen to the story, she just began to wonder for her own safety.

"She is only ever seen at night, and as the tapping of her shoes gets louder, the distant light becomes brighter and the haunting tune comes to a sudden halt...and if the stories are true, if you ever speak of her, she will arrive that night..." continued Percy as Mary dared not listen anymore.  
"Stop it!" she called. "Please, I want to sleep, I don't want to hear the story anymore!"  
"Scared are we?" teased Percy.  
"No! I'm just very, very tired!" retorted Mary angrily and she immediately forced herself to sleep. Meanwhile, Percy thought he had heard the beginnings of the tapping shoes on the pathing. The tapping got louder and then it began to fade. Someone must have just been passing by the shed, but there was a light on outside of the shed and no-one could be seen. Percy began to wonder, like Mary had if he'd just seen the Wandering Woman. He couldn't have, surely? Percy felt unsure and he wanted to get to sleep quickly so he closed his eyes in the hope that he'd fall asleep, but he couldn't.  
"Oh dear..." he thought to himself. "She's here! I've summoned her!" he then shrieked. This caused Mary to wake up and she wasn't pleased at all.  
"What do you think you're playing at?" she asked angrily.  
"She's here..." replied Percy oddly.  
"Who's here?" asked Mary who was just bemused.

"The Wandering Woman!" said Percy who was very terrified. "Listen closely, then you'll hear the tapping shoes!" he then warned. Silence then fell between the two of them as Mary listened closely and that's when she heard the tapping shoes. She'd heard them, but dismissed it in an instant. Percy was still scared and couldn't help but think that by telling the story meant she would come. Percy really felt terrified now and as the tapping shoe noise got a bit louder, Mary spotted the fading light.  
"She's over there!" called Mary who became scared once again. The realisation was dawning on her now, and she couldn't quite believe it. The Wandering Woman was getting closer to them...

Two of the three key signs to identifying the Wandering Woman had now been seen and heard and Percy and Mary were very scared. Fog had began to form in the distance and this made the fading light they'd seen even more distant than it actually was. All that was needed now was the haunting tune to be heard and that would confirm the presence of the Wandering Woman.  
"Who told you the story?" asked Mary to try and divert attention.

"Henry..." replied Percy. "But he'd heard it from Gordon who'd heard it off Duck, who'd heard it off Peter Sam at the Transfer Yards who had originally heard it from Duke!" he then added sheepishly.  
"Well, Duke doesn't lie does he?" asked Mary already knowing the answer.  
"No..." replied Percy anyway as the tapping shoes and distant light were still in sight. Then, they heard the tune begin. The Wandering Woman was whistling and the tune was horrific to hear. Silence fell at the shed once again as Mary and Percy cowered in fear.

"You did this Percy..." shouted Mary all of a sudden. "You brought her here!"  
"I'm sorry..." came the quiet reply. Both of them were braced for the appearance of the Wandering Woman and were very scared. As the shadow of the Woman came into view, a big intake of breath was heard by both Mary and Percy as they cowered in the terror of the moment. Then, the tune came to a sudden halt and the light went out. This wasn't meant to happen and the woman's shadowy figure looked a little angry. Then, she headed toward the shed as she saw the light and Percy and Mary didn't want this to happen at all, but they couldn't stop her. The Wandering Woman was here...

As the figure entered the shed, the illuminated Woman turned out to be just an ordinary looking woman. She wore a dark blue Jumper with black trousers, a bright yellow Body-Warmer and very muddy boots.  
"Got any spare Fog Lamps in here?" she asked quite reasonably.  
"Yes..." replied Mary. "Over there, behind the shovels..."  
"Ta!" said the woman but Percy couldn't believe that this woman was the Wandering Woman, so he had to check for himself.  
"Excuse me..." he asked timidly. "Are you the Wandering Woman?"

"Heavens no, lad!" she laughed. "That would be awful if I'd come here on purpose to spook you!" Percy didn't look happy at all. He may have been scared, but he would have liked to have met the Wandering Woman.  
"Then who are you?" asked Mary.  
"I'm Young Hattie..." replied the woman. "Well, I was Young Hattie, I'm just Hattie Hattie now...well, Old Hattie really, but I don't mind..."

"Young Hattie?" quizzed Mary.  
"Indeed..." replied Hattie. "I am the Night watch Woman on Sodor. I've been doing the job for over 30 years and I think that's where the story of the Wandering Woman began..."  
"So Duke was right, but he wasn't right..." said Percy quite confused.  
"Oh indeed..." replied Hattie. "But Duke always knew it was me, he just wanted to spook the others, that's all!" and then she laughed. Mary and Percy smiled awkwardly as Hattie continued to chuckle but soon enough, Percy had a thought.  
"What was that tune you were whistling?" he asked very perplexed.  
"Oh that tune!" grinned Hattie. "It's the tune my Father used to whistle when he made his way to the Mines! I do it in his honour, although not greatly is has to be said!" and once again, Hattie began to laugh and this time, Percy and Mary laughed too. Soon enough, Hattie got the new Fog Lamp and continued on with her Night watch duties leaving the mystery of the Wandering Woman solved.

Now that the story of the Wandering Woman has been revealed to be that of 'Young' Hattie, engines no longer fear the tapping shoes, the distant light and the haunting tune as they now know that it is only Hattie making sure that everything is fine and that everyone is as safe as they can possibly be...


End file.
